All Aboard!

“18 Now when Jesus saw a crowd around him, he gave orders to go over to the other side. 19 And a scribe came up and said to him, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.” 20 And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” 21 Another of the disciples said to him, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” 22 And Jesus said to him, “Follow me, and leave the dead to bury their own dead.”  23 And when he got into the boat, his disciples followed him.”  (Matt 8)

The Parable of the Sower.  A Lamp on a Stand.  Jesus’ mother and brothers.  Luke 8 which we’ve been studying this week has been defining for us what a follower of Jesus truly looks like as he said in Luke 6, “44 Each tree is recognized by its own fruit.”  Immediately after identifying them in these parables, Jesus leads his chosen into a boat and the boat into a storm.

It’s good to compare the gospel accounts of specific stories and going back to Matthew’s telling of this storm we see while Matt has the Parable of the Sower much later in time, he records a very interesting exchange taking place before their fateful three hour tour on the Sea of Galilee.

A scribe, a man zealous for the Law of God, a religious man, comes to Jesus with fervor.  “I will follow you wherever you will go!” Talk about your volunteers.  Sign this guy up!  He’s got the stuff!  Or does he?

Jesus’ response shows us what kind of soil he thinks this man’s heart is.  “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.”  Many thought Jesus was a messiah.  They thought he might be the political leader, the inspirational leader of a new revolt which would throw off Rome and set Israel up as an earthly kingdom again.  Many thought there was something to be gained by joining Jesus’ new movement.  Look at the crowds following him.  Even if he’s just a charismatic speaker, megachurches make money!  Get in on the ground floor of a popular wave like this and who knows where it will carry you?  The sky’s the limit!  We could live like kings!  Jesus is a rabbi, he’s going to need a scribe to write down all his sayings, right? 

Foxes and birds of the air.  Jesus called one man a fox, Herod.  (Luke 13:32)  Birds of the air are a popular euphemism for the unclean, gentiles, heathens and demons.  The kings of this world and the citizens of this world, Jesus says, have the basest of blessings.  The minimum standard of grace, a place to lay their heads at night, peace, security, shelter, these are enjoyed by those who do not thank God for them, do not serve Him, do not love Him.  Yet, His beloved Son in whom He is well pleased, goes homeless. 

Another man, who actually already is following Jesus, asks to go home and “bury his father.”  Is his father dead?  Is he sick?  Is he old or infirm?  We don’t know.  It doesn’t say.  Jesus’ answer however shows us this is more than just a worker asking for a day off.  It shows us there is a deeper, underlying spiritual issue here. “Follow me, and leave the dead to bury their own dead.”  I think it’s safe to assume Jesus wasn’t saying corpses could bury corpses or telling this man to leave his father’s body to rot in a house somewhere.  So what is Jesus saying?

First we must know what the disciple is asking for.  This was a patriarchal society.  A son was attached to his family for life.  He usually even built his own house onto his father’s.  There were strict, social traditions, conventions and expectations placed upon sons.  The disciple’s father may not even be close to death at all, the son is just asking for Jesus to wait until the boy’s social obligations are through, then he will be free to follow Jesus.  He will be his own man, free to set his own course.  “Just wait until I move out Jesus, then I’ll follow you wholeheartedly.”  “Lord, just let me when the lottery, then I’ll be able to quit my job and give all my time to you.”  “I can’t wait until I retire and can finally have time to help people and volunteer.”  “Father, I want to serve you more, give you all my time and energy and creativity but… I have to work, I have to provide for my family, just a few more years Lord and things should settle down.  Just let me get the house paid off.  Just let me get the kids off to college.  Just let me finish paying for the kids’ college.  Lord, the car broke down.  Things have been crazy at work.  It’s always something.”

And Jesus knows it will always be something.  The weeds grow up, “life’s worries, riches and pleasures,” (Luke 8) will always choke our desire to follow Jesus.  If we have, we are afraid to lose it.  If we don’t have, we spend all we have trying to get it.  Jesus says, knock it off!  It’s true madness!  “19 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Matt 6)

“17 For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. 18 I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, so that you may be rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness may not be seen, and salve to anoint your eyes, so that you may see.” (Rev 3)

It is madness to scratch and claw and fight to survive, when the best goal you can set is to live a few years at the end of your life when your body is giving out in relative ease and comfort and completely ignore eternity stretching out forever after you shuffle off this mortal coil!  Jesus is the only man who ever saw life as it really was.  He is the only one who had an inkling of true life, eternity; the only one who could keep things in perspective.  He didn’t work for any reward here on earth.  He fought for a kingdom hard to define and harder to see.  A kingdom worth giving His life for!  A kingdom of harmony and communion and perfect love with God the Father and each other!  A kingdom where every tear shall be wiped away.  Where nothing evil or unclean shall ever be.  Where law and order and justice, perfect justice shall be not only the rule but the taken-for-granted norm!  A kingdom of priests!  A kingdom to come!

And to get there, we have to leave everything and go through a storm.  Sounds fun, who’s on getting on board?